ERIC Number: EJ1442663
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023-Jan
Pages: 6
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0021-9584
EISSN: EISSN-1938-1328
Available Date: N/A
Teaching Single Crystal X-Ray Crystallography In the Undergraduate Classroom with Sugar and Epsom Salt
Journal of Chemical Education, v100 n1 p336-341 2023
We developed a single crystal X-ray crystallography experiment based on the crystal structure of sucrose (table sugar), and a more challenging experiment using Epsom salt. Both crystals are readily available in X-ray quality crystalline form. In these experiments, students mounted a crystal on a MiTeGen loop and analyzed it using a Rigaku XtaLAB Mini diffractometer (built 2011). Students generated models of both compounds using CrysAlis[superscript Pro], Olex2, SHELXT, and SHELXL. All aspects of this experiment use free software programs which have user-friendly interfaces. A step-by-step laboratory protocol for determining the structure of both compounds is included in the Supporting Information. These experiments were used in the Fall of 2019 at the Junior and the Senior level. In the Summer of 2020, a take-home version of the lab was created in response to the Novel 2019 Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and implemented in the General Chemistry laboratory curriculum; this experiment was used for the duration of the 2020-2021 academic year. These experiments are suitable for all undergraduate experience levels.
Descriptors: Undergraduate Students, COVID-19, Pandemics, Laboratory Procedures, Chemistry, Curriculum Implementation, Science Instruction, Food, Laboratory Experiments, Computer Software
Division of Chemical Education, Inc. and ACS Publications Division of the American Chemical Society. 1155 Sixteenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 800-227-5558; Tel: 202-872-4600; e-mail: eic@jce.acs.org; Web site: http://pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A